4.15.2011

Leo's iPad 2: First Look, Contemplating Cases

Look what's here!

And look what it says, to Leo's sisters' chagrin!

We're having a grand old time with it so far, Leo and I are. We spent this morning running errands and taking pictures with the iPad 2's built-in camera. And when we got home, and since we didn't have to do any photo uploading, it took us all of 15 minutes to make a social story about our morning, using one of our favorite apps Stories2Learn:

The photos are not the same quality as those from my camera, but the trade off for convenience? Oh yeah, I'm there. Next we'll see how the integrated videotaping & editing works for creating social story videos. Too exciting!

Leo himself is reacting as I hoped he would: In a state of pure delight to have all of his favorite videos and movies in one place again (this is the reason we sprung for the 64 GB version; the 16 GB filled up months ago and required constant content weeding.)

Our next step is to get a case. Having a naked iPad makes me nervous about accidents and smashing. Adding to my discomfort with taking it out of the house is Seymour's tale of a friend who had one snatched right out of her hands as she stood on a San Francisco street corner. iTunes will let you re-download purchased apps for free, so hopefully she was able to restore most of what she lost, but still -- I don't favor walking around with a big shiny silver Apple bullseye in my arms, especially since I'm almost always completely distracted by my kids.

So, cases. Apple's iPad 2 Smart Covers do not protect the back of the tablet from banging and scratches, and Apple currently does not provide iPad2 case options. OtterBox's iPad 2 covers are coming soon, but they're not here yet. Our ideal is a case that is easy to install and use and provides protection around the back of the case and ideally around the front too -- but it's the dropping factor we're most worried about. Here are some iPad 2 case options we're considering for Leo. I'd appreciate any other suggestions:

12 comments:

So thrilled! Will never forget Grace's reaction to a short video I made of a favourite activity on a little Samsung Tocca - we watched it again and again on that little resistive screen - which was much better than driving back to the beach and the ice cream kiosk again and again...

I did buy the Apple snap-on cover for the iPad2, which is great for around the house. When I go out, I slip it into the Mophie case I got for the iPad. I may give that case to my daughter (who claimed the 'old' iPad). The iPad2 slips around a bit, except when the Apple cover is also on.

I use a case by Incase for my IPad that is pretty durable considering my 5 year old also uses it. They also have one for the iPad. www.goincase.comThe Book Jacket for iPad2. Thx also for all of the great apps suggestions for autism!

We tried the Otterbox when we first purchased the Ipad for our 18 year old son, Sean, who has Autism. It took my husband and I about 15 minutes to watch a youtube video on how to install it, and about 10 seconds for Sean to dismantle the cover....needless to say....after many months unscathed, Sean tripped and dropped his precious ipad last Friday, and it cracked (even more :(). Apple was wonderful and replaced it on Saturday...we were able to reload Proloquo2go and Drawing pad, without a charge, using our Mac...and I googled your name to find out the cool, puzzle game that Leo was playing in the commercial...so I downloaded that, spin art, and am always looking for new apps...sorry for the long post! Love your blog...Deb

I'm not sure if it is kid-proof, but I love my DodoCase. It took 3 weeks to get it, since they are hand-made, but I believe they are getting caught up. There is no hole for the back camera, so you need to take it out to take photos that way. It would also be nice if it had a magnet to turn off the iPad.

We have a case from Triton called a Kraken! Super tough plastic plus a silicone skin to make it less slippery. The biggest plus for us is it has a clear tough plastic face built in to completely encase the ipad all the time, you can use the pad right through the cover! No more pesky bubbles with those Iskins. Don't know if they have them for the I2 yet, but we love ours.

We have one from Trident and I love it, I think it's the same as the Triton one referenced above. It's super tough and it's in the case all the time, which really helps. My son is almost six, but he's pretty clueless about dropping things - I mean, he can't 'be careful', so we have to get something that he can really abuse. His sisters are three and two and they love it too so we had to get a case that could stand up to these crazy kids!